The Supreme Court has resolved, by a vote of five to four that the “Constitution provided no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy.” (Bowers v. Hardwick) This paper will show that the analysis behind the Bowers v. Hardwick decision was flawed and limited in scope. I believe that the government does not have the right to prohibit homosexual or heterosexual consensual sodomy. Anti-sodomy laws violate the right to privacy, equal protection, and provide no reasonable compelling state interest for these violations.
On August 3, 1982, Michael Hardwick was arrested in Atlanta for the crime of sodomy with a consenting adult male in the privacy of his own bedroom. (Cain, 1612) The Georgia statute provides that “a person commit…
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…ct. 31, 1986.
* Halley, Janet E.; “Reasoning About Sodomy;” Virginia Law Review; Vol. 79:1721; 193 p. 1740-1772.
* Leveno, Elizabeth A.; “New Hope for the New Federalism: State Constitutional Challenges to Sodomy Statutes;” University of Cincinati Law Review; Vol. 62; 1994; p. 1029-1054.
* Lewis, Thomas P.; “Commonwealth v. Wasson: Invalidating Kentucky’s Sodomy Statute”; Kentucky Law Journal; Vol. 81; 1992-93; p. 423 – 448.
* Strader, J. Kelly; “Constitutional Challenges to the Criminalization of Same-Sex Sexual Activities: State Interest in HIV-AIDS Issues”; Denver University Law Review; Vol 70, No. 2; 1993, p. 337-357.
* State v. Morales; 826 S.W. 2d 201,202 (Tx. Ct. App. 1992)
* Wiegand, Shirley; “Part of the Moving Stream: State Constitutional Law, Sodomy, and Beyond; Kentucky Law Journal; Vol. 81; 1992-93; p. 449 – 481.
Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legalized?
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, marriage is a relationship between a husband and a wife and it is also a similar relationship between people of same sex. In past, marriages were often held between a man and a woman according to traditions and ethnicities. As time went on, people started changing their lifestyles and traditions. As homosexual lifestyle becomes prominent in the society, a new controversial debate has been started in the world about the legalization of this type of marriage. The same sex marriage has been extensively argued in the recent past years because of its controversial nature. Marriage is a relationship between two agreeing adults who love and care for each other. It is a union of two persons in a bond that lasts until death. Marriage is about love not about money, gender, procreation or anything else. Although most of the population of the world is against the legalization of gay marriage due to their religious and traditional believes yet the same sex marriage should be legalized as marriage is a basic civil right of every person of this world. To rea…